Jess Phillips regrets controversial comments over disorder
The Home Office minister posted on social media that counter-protesters had gone to a location because they had been told far-right protesters were due to turn up, and blamed it on misinformation.
Government minister Jess Phillips has said she should have chosen her words “more carefully” after making controversial comments on social media about this month’s disorder.
The Home Office minister had replied to a post on X from Reform’s Richard Tice that said “all violence, rioting and assault [is] totally unacceptable” and added: “Two-tier policing must stop.”
Mr Tice had included a video of masked men making intimidating gestures close to where Sky correspondent Becky Johnson was reporting from in Birmingham on 5 August.
Ms Phillips responded with: “These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them.
“This misinformation was spread entirely to create this content. Don’t spread it Mr Tice!”
She was referring to a protest outside a McDonald’s restaurant in her Birmingham constituency where counter-protesters in balaclavas responded to rumours of a far-right protest.
Ms Phillips was heavily criticised for her comments.
Reflecting on her words, Ms Phillips said: “Of course I would choose my words more carefully [in future].
“I’m more than happy to say that when I make a mistake. Absolutely.
“I was trying to get across that this gathering of people had been manufactured by misinformation.”
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She added she “certainly could have phrased it better” but said she had spent the whole day with the local chief constable who had been working “incredibly hard to bring down tensions”.
Ms Phillips said she was “not making excuses”.
“I was explaining why those people have gone and that’s because of a campaign of misinformation about far-right protests,” she added.
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Among those who criticised Ms Phillips’ comments was shadow home secretary James Cleverly, who said: “Home Office ministers should not be making excuses for masked men shouting, abusing, and intimidating members of the media.
“Ministers are not commentators or casual observers, they are decision makers and need to think about the consequences of their words and actions.”
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson called for her resignation over the remarks.
